Over the past five years Delhi has nosedived in nation-wide rankings of the cleanest cities as per a survey conducted by the Union Urban Development Ministry.
The Swachh Bharat ranking of 476 cities for 2014-15 released on Saturday sees the Delhi Cantonment Board at number 15, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) at 16 and the municipal corporations of Delhi at a low 398. The last time the survey was conducted in 2009-10, the NDMC was at rank four and the Cantonment Board at five. The unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi was ranked 170 out of 423 cities surveyed.
Not only have the corporations fallen over 200 ranks, the sanitation budget has nearly doubled since 2010. The MCD spent Rs.940 crore in 2010-11 on sanitation, while the three corporations have proposed to spend Rs.1,836 crore this fiscal. The survey is a requirement under the National Sanitation Policy 2008, but this year it gains more importance with the BJP-led Union Government’s ongoing Swachh Bharat Mission.
The BJP, which has controlled the municipalities since 2007, said it was the lack of funds from the Delhi Government that is to be blamed.
“In their first stint, the Aam Aadmi Party cut Rs.250 crore in municipal grants. Then, there was no elected government in Delhi for a year. And, now the AAP Government is refusing to release our share of resource,” said South Delhi Municipal Corporation Leader of the House Ashish Sood.
He said the poor sanitation conditions could be chalked up to irregular growth, multiplicity of authority and lack of cooperation from the State Government.
Mr. Sood, however, said he was “not passing the buck” and that there was a lot to be done by the corporations. “The mechanisation and modernisation of sanitation services is underway. Delhiites will be able to see the results in the coming year,” said Mr. Sood.
The NDMC, which is home to the corridors of power, manicured lawns and the city’s heritage, fell 122 ranks from last time. “The NDMC area should be in the top five. We are working towards strengthening sanitation services,” said NDMC chairperson Naresh Kumar.
The cleanest part of Delhi, as per the survey, the Cantonment also lost 11 ranks. Cantonment Board spokesperson Tanu Sharma said the Board was doing its best to provide services to residents in its limited area. “We have recently renewed our sanitation contracts and will be improving services further,” said Mr. Sharma.
